Monday, December 28, 2015

I love you all and hope you had an AMAZING Christmas! I can't wait to hear from ya'll.

To the Sequim Dungeness Ward (and all others who contributed) Thank you sooooooo much for the box of goodies! It was such a wonderful surprise! I love you all SO much and can't wait to come back and hug every single one of you and thank you for your love and support!

Amor,

Hermana Voss

Picture #1- Sister Conference. Fun Fact: I hurdle jumped the row of chairs in order to get there in time for the self timer to go off and made it with some serious clearance! It was good time!

Picture #2- Some down time before district meeting. I mean, how can we not have fun.

Pic #4- Elder Clubb and Ramirez. We played a rousing game of who knows their companions the best. This gem showed up when the question was asked, What did Elder Clubb want for Christmas that year. Elder Clubb (naturally) put food.... and Elder Ramirez came out of left field with Throwing Knives. Don't let the picture fool you though, these elders are solidly amazing!

Picture 5 and 6- Our reenactment of the Nativity with a wonderful family in our ward!

Picture 7- A little selfie love with our Zone. We were invited over to frost cookies and then went passing them out and caroling while it was snowing. It was a White Christmas! Starting at the front left and going clockwise- Sister Davies, Hermana Moody, Sister Beaman, Hermana Chandler, Elder Otto, Elder Diedrickson, Elder Taviuni (he is from the WA-Tac mission!) Elder Rich hiding behind elder Stephens, Hermana Gogue, Hermana Hiatt, and myself!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

What a wonderful week we have had! Busy busy busy, and cold, cold, cold! But Worth it. Sister Moody and I are workin' our tails off and have been loving the people we teach. Miracles for days! The Hispanic culture is so hospitable and they absolutely love to talk about the Savior. Many of our brothers and sisters are desiring to know more about Christ and how they can draw closer to Him. It's amazing.

❄Christmas time is just so special!❄

Super cool experience: We were at a baptismal service at the Stake Center and this woman walked in. She was super distressed and asked for a Priesthood Blessing for comfort. She isn't a member of the church but she heard that with the Priesthood authority that worthy men can administer blessings. Sister Moody and I were in the room for the blessing and the spirit was just AMAZING. She said that she FELT so much of her negative feelings just leave her body, soul, and mind! She is going to be meeting with the missionaries!

In other news! I am an AUNT again! My sister had my niece on the 19th! Her name is Micheala Rae Franklin! I'm so excited!

I don't have much to write because this day has been REALLY whacky. But, I love you all, and ❄MERRY CHRISTMAS❄ from Hermana Voss and Hermana Moody!😘

Monday, December 14, 2015

I'm going to apologize in advance because my English is getting horrible! I'm at that awkard point where I can't speak English OR Spanish and I forget words all the time.... and how they're spelled. All you Return Missionaries know what I'm talking about!

Christmas time is here and we have been busy busy busy! Lots of people to teach and a lot of people who want to hear about Christ. Hearts are truly softened at this time of year. I love it!

We had a week crammed with meetings and lessons so not much to report other than teaching some amazing people! This work is the best. And the hardest!

Story time! I got to see the infamous Zach McCulley on Thursday! Our Stake had a giant Christmas concert with the Mormon Chorale and Lakewood Symphony and who has a friend in the Chorale? Yup! Zach McCulley! I'm pretty sure I almost passed out from shock. Pics on their way!

The concert was absolutely sublime and a great way to get everyone geared for the holidays and reflecting on the birth of our savior.

PS: I had my first tamale at our ward Christmas party. It was to die for!

I love you all and will be sure to write more next week. We have miracles in the plans for this week! I love it!

Love,

Hermana Voss

1 and 2- Our ward's Christmas party was a Night in Bethlehem! The Hermanas and I and then our whole district! Compelete with authentic(ish) attire :P We had a ton of fun! So much food too. I thought I loved Mexican food before.... woah man, now its an addiction!

Monday, December 7, 2015

Here I am still in Lakewood but on the dark side speaking Spanish! I just love it!

This last week we had Stake Conference (La Conferencia de Estaca) which was super cool! We had a visiting 70 speak to us, Elder Grow. The topic was members and missionaries working together.

My challenge to all of you is to invite the Missionaries over for dinner, even if you're not a member. (at least once a month because it is REALLY hard to live on MSF funds alone when you rely solely on other people to feed you dinner). Also, ask them if there are any allergies. That is a story for another time, and either give them a referral (We know you know people who need the gospel so don't hide it) and or to find an hour to go out with them sometime this month! Brothers and Sisters, we (as missionaries) CANNOT do this work without you, and you can't do it without us. We have to work together. I know you may think it is scary, and you don't want to breach relationships, but everyone on earth deserves to hear this gospel, or else why would they be here?!

Okay, now I'm off my soap box. I love you all and I love, love, love this work. Despite the FREEZING temperatures! But its okay. Hand warmers save lives. Thank you Mama Sue and Papa Steve, my phalanges thank you!

The Spanish culture is AWESOME. I love these people to death! There is a lot of cheek kissing, which is really weird when an old man does it and you've been in white culture for the past 5 months and are used to shaking hands with everyone of the male gender. Es muy raro! (Its really weird). Also, the food. Can we just take a minute to talk about Spanish food. Its ridiculously good. And I'm NEVER hungry. Every time we go into someones house (member or not) we are fed and or given something edible to take with us. It is a think of beauty. PS. I'm NEVER buying walmart Tortilla's again. I had real flour tortilla's the other day and I almost cried because they were so amazing!

Okay, so this email was really not all that spiritual. But I will have more words of spirituality next week. Lol

I encourage all of you to take the time to look at the Christmas initiative videos from this year and last year, and decide what you are going to give Christ this year :)

Monday, November 30, 2015

Okay so y'all remember how last week I had announced that I was an ASL (American Sign Language) Missionary. Yeah, I'm not anymore. After two transfers of being an ASL Missionary (and FINALLY getting my nametag), I have now been switched to Spanish speaking. SURPRISE!!!!

Story Time! Friday morning we saw that President was calling and we're like, that's super weird.😯 So we all start panicking. (We haven't been disoedient we swear, its just VERY uncommon for the mission president to call us.) ANYWAY! We answered and he asked if I was there and then he asked to speak to me in private. I like start COMPLETELY freaking out on the inside thinking I've done something wrong without knowing it!😦 So I went upstairs to talk with him and he says "Sister Voss, I hear you know a lot of languages". How he knows this I don't know, but I don't actually speak language I can just read and sing them! ANYWAY! "How is your Spanish? I have a Spanish sister going home and we don't have any Spanish missionaries coming out until next transfer which means we are short one sister. I would like to have you switch, is that alright?" I'm thinking, okay, this guy is pulling my leg, he has to be! Of course I said yes. I'm not going to deny Heavenly Fathers perfect plans. He said he would get back because he wanted to pray and fast about it to make sure it was right but that he was pretty sure this is what the Lord wanted.😰

Long story short we went to the mission home for interviews and he said "Sister Voss, will you be a Spanish sister." And I accepted. So.... SOY LA HERMANA VOSS! Mucho gusto! PS- Prayers are appreciated.

I will still be here on the Metro side, where I am going, and who my companion is, but I don't know what my new address is. That will come next week. 😊

Other than that, we had a pretty great week, CHALK full of miracles and teaching so many people with great potential! One of those miracles being fed SO MUCH FOOD on Thanksgiving. #LeftOversFo'Days!

I love you all and am so excited to start sharing the miracles that happen in my new calling!

Lastly, I have been getting emails about Christmas gifts. Honestly, I don't have much room in my suitcases, but hand warmers and wool socks are always appreciated. I will MAKE room for them. Mostly I would just love for you all to take the time to write me your testimony (whether it be of the Savior, the Gospel, the Book of Mormon) whatever! I would love to have them. BUT if you are going to send Christmas gifts, apparently there is a specific way we are supposed to do it here on the mission so you will have to get into contact with Sue and Steve Brown on how to go about that because I have no idea what is going on. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

This last week was a miracle filled week! We were busy, busy, busy! Best miracle of the week. We quite literally had a miracle handed to us! We had a referral from Church Headquarters. We contacted H, the referral. When we went up to her door we knocked and she came right out and was like, "Hi! It is so nice to meet you!" I was standing there in complete shock. I even looked down to make sure we all had our nametags visible because I'm thinking, "Uhhhh.... do you not see our nametags? You know we're Mormon.... right?" She continues on, "Yeah! They told me you would be stopping by but I didn't know when!" Come to find out she grew up Lutheran but has been looking for something more. She decided to go on to Mormon.org and look up the beliefs of the church and the FAQ's.... And (no joke) her husband grew up JW!!!!!!!! How is that even possible! I have seriously found the reason I am supposed to be here in Lakewood. Last week we fasted and prayed to find a family to teach who is prepared to hear the gospel. Literally, THE FOLLOWING DAY, we get that referral. She is so solid and we have an appointment on Tuesday with her and her husband (haven't met him yet)!

As always, the 6th week of the transfer brings so much anticipation and stress. We want to work our hardest to see miracles but we also don't want to lose our beloved companion or in my case, companionS. I feel like I am starting to see a small glimpse of how Heavenly Father and Christ see these two beautiful daughters of God. Sister Davies is the finest of the stripling warriors! Fearless, diligent, and amazingly compassionate. Sister Beaman is so tender-hearted and a silent giant. She knows how to bring the spirit into a room quicker than anyone I have ever met.

In other news, I am an American Sign Language missionary. (Some of you know this already, but now it is official!) Name tag and all! I'll send pictures.

Since it is the 6th week of the transfer please send letters and packages (after Wednesday) to the mission home. I'm hoping and praying I get to stay here in Lakewood. It would be nice to stick around in an area for a while!

I love you all and I hope you are seeing miracles every week!

Until Next week! Love,

Sister Voss

Sister Davies and have a date with Hot Chocolate every night out on the front porch when we finish planning

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Not much to report this week other than the fact that the three of us are thoroughly EXHAUSTED! We have our hands completely full with an overflowing teaching pool! Which is AWESOME, but REALLY hard to find the time to teach everyone.

Tonight/ tomorrow we are apparently supposed to have a pretty nasty blizzard so we might be stuck inside all day tomorrow which is a bummer because our week is completely and utterly packed this week. But I'm still not 100% better from the flu, so a day of rest might be nice. Gotta get some energy back instead of running on fumes like I was this week.

I'm going to keep it short because we have a lot of stuff to do if it is in fact going to snow tomorrow. I'll send you all pictures :)

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Voss

1) Sister Kenworthy, Sister Messinger and myself! My first and 3rd companions! I love them so much!

2) It was Sister Beaman's 20th birthday on Sunday. We had such a fun time decorating our living space and surprising her first thing in the morning. We got it all on video. Her reaction is PRICELESS! Can't wait to post it on FB after the mission!

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Woah man! I have NEVER been so excited for P-day. 8 days is just WAY too long and this week was ROUGH. We went the library this morning and practically cried in contempt because the library doesn't open on Tuesdays until 1. Thank goodness for Family History Centers!

Fun adventure: I got the flu which is NOT fun ever, let alone on a mission. And since we live in a basement I did not see the light of day for 3 days. I'm still not 100% better but there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to miss emailing today.... So I'm basically going to go right back to the cave after I email to rest some more.

In other news, I got word from Fruita that several of the people Sister Ytac, and Kenworthy and I were teaching are making significant progress with one baptism this Saturday and one reactivation of a dear gentleman in the ward! WOOHOO! I love this work!

Yesterday we had a mission tour with Elder Anderson and his wife. Oh man! It was a spiritual feast to say the least. I'm pretty sure we came home with leftovers! I have pages and pages and pages of notes. I will compile them this week and save them for next week so that I can give you the important bits :)

Sister Beaman's birthday is on Sunday, so Sister Davies and I are planning on blowing up our living quarters with origami rabbits (Sister Beaman's one true obsession) and sticky notes of encouragement and love.

I have some pictures from this week that I will pass on after this. Sorry this is a short email, but I am exhausted!

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Voss

1) After the Temple session. Over here on the Metro side of the mission we get to go to the temple every other transfer. Funny story. Because we caught the 630 am session we had to be up at 445 so we could leave by 545 since it takes 20 mins to get there. 18 hour day. No big deal. We were SO tired. Also, after we had finished our session and then mingled with the other missionaries for a sufficient amount of time we were SO hungry! We decided to go to Wendy's for lunch.... Fun fact: Wendy's does not open until 10 am.... 2nd fun fact. 10 am is not lunch time! Our whole day was thrown off!

2) Sister's Conference with all of our metro side sisters!

3) Obligatory matching comp jammies! Gotta show our CO love!

4) I'm pretty sure this is one of the best companion pics I've ever had!

5) This is what happens when you ask elders to take a picture for you.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Things have been AWESOME here in Lakewood. My companions and I are calling ourselves Murdock's Power Trio because we have been working SO hard, being SO tired, and seeing miracles every day! God is amazing!

This week I mostly want to talk to ya'll about the personal studies I have been having with my Book of Mormon readings. I started reading the Book of Mormon wanting to learn more about Faith. How I can develop my faith, how I can help others develop their faith, and how faith influences us daily. Etc.

First epiphany, II Nephi 9:18, "But behold, righteous the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God...." At the beginning of my mission I was SO afraid to tell people what church we were with. But now, saying "we are from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" is something that fills my heart with joy. When we have deep rooted faith in Christ, we do not bear shame when carrying the name (cross) of Christ. We endure the good, bad, and the ugly that comes with the title of being a latter-day saint. Elder Holland gave a talk and said something along the lines of (I'm totally paraphrasing here) "it is never easy because Salvation was NEVER easy. Salvation was not a cheap experience. If it wasn't easy for Christ, what makes us think it would ever be easy for us?" If we bear the name of Christ with joy we shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Secondly, a cool fact about faith taken from II Nephi 25:25 "For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith, yet we keep the law because of the commandments.". Faith in Christ is what saves us, but our WORKS (keeping the commandments) are (is?) what seals our salvation.

So, for next week, I probably wont be able to email until Tuesday because we have one of the Seventy coming to visit our mission on Monday. Elder Wilford W. Anderson, the one who gave the talk about The Music of the Gospel in April conference. Pretty cool, right?! We are all super excited!

I love you all and will do my best to email Tuesday. Right now we have to go because we have interviews with our Mission President today.

We ate dinner at Chipotle on Halloween and the COOLEST family came in. They are all characters from Mario. I walked up to them and said "So I know you have NO idea who I am, but before I go, can my companion and I get a picture with y'all?" So rad!

Monday, October 26, 2015

Here I am in Lakewood Colorado on the COMPLETELY other side of the mission! We are just outside of Denver and let me tell ya. It is REALLY weird being back in the city life. I'm pretty sure I shed tears of joy seeing a Whole Foods and a Super Target right next to each other.

I was so upset to be leaving Fruita. Honestly, that place is the promised land! But I am already starting to find the reason why I am here on the metro side. We have found some amazingly prepared people. But if President ever needs someone to go back to Fruita, I'm his gal!

So fun news! I am in a "tripanionship" also known as a trio. My companions are Sister Davies and Beaman. Sister Beaman came out with me and Sister Davies came out the transfer after. We have hit it off so well. We are a bunch of Harry Potter and Disney nerds. Its the best. I don't know if President realizes how much of a mistake this was. Hahahaha! But we are completely obedient so that's all that matters. We live with a 96 year old woman down in her basement. Don't worry, its completely furnished and we have a GLORIOUS bathroom. That is seriously the best part. True story.

It's about 10 degrees colder up here, being about 1500 ft higher than I was. It has been a lot like Sequim weather which was a pleasant surprise. The first morning here the three of us went running in the pouring rain. Steve, remember the one and only time we did that? :P

This week we worked so hard and also had so much fun. We found some amazingly prepared people and are ready to thrust in our sickles with our might again this week. Saturday we had our ward "Trunk or Treat" which was so much fun and a great way to get to know some of the ward. We dressed up as Disney Princesses. I will attach pictures in the next email. Sister Davies was Rapunzel, Sister Beaman was Belle and I was Anna, complete with the white hair streak. Thank you Walmart for your cheap Halloween merchandise!

Sunday Sister Voss got thrown under the bus and had to give a talk in sacrament meeting, so that was fun. Our ward has 8 missionaries. A senior couple, the Gunthers (the mission President's Sister and her husband). They are our financial people in the mission home, and then the Lakewood Elders who are also a tripanionship.

Thank you all for your wonderful prayers this week. They have been felt in this time of transition! I didn't realize how hard it would be leaving Fruita. I love you all and please know that I pray for you often, if not daily.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Last night we FINALLY received transfer calls! Sad news :( I'm leaving Fruita AND Sister Ytac! I'm so sad! I love this place so much and we were just starting to see amazing miracles. But I know I have gotten comfortable here and that means its time to grow some more! I know wherever the Lord sends me He will put people in my path. I'm sorry this is so short but I gotta go pack up my stuff. You think it would be hard to get settled in in only 3 months but its pretty easy apparantly!

Also! Good news! E and R got married!!!!!! WOOHOOOOO!!! Now they are getting baptized on the 14th of Novemever!

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

This week Sister Ytac and I worked our tails off! AND we hit our Mission's "Standards of Excellence" again! We found so many people to teach! Two of whom were former investigators who weren't taking our message seriously a couple of missionaries ago. But they come to church EVERY WEEK without fail and stay for all three hours and actively participate! Last week Sister Ytac and I went up to E and R and asked if they would like to start taking the missionary discussions from us again and really seriously consider our message this time. We were both standing there holding our breath because the man, E, is the one that everything hinges on. R was ready to get baptized MONTHS ago. He said yes and we set up a time to meet with them. On Sunday after church we had an amazingly inspired lesson with E and R and our Ward Mission Leader's family, the Kinders. (They are awesome for anyone who doesn't know that already). We were very frank with E and R. E has some habits he needs to stop before he can be baptized and sure enough he came out with "it's a lot easier said than done". As he is sitting there saying this I'm thinking, "Sister Voss, its now or never. He's either going to take the gospel seriously or he isn't. Here goes nothing." I looked him straight in the face and said "E, you are a stubborn old man. You know it, I know it, R knows it. EVERYONE knows it. You can darn well do whatever you set your mind to because you are THAT stubborn. If you want to stop these habits, I know you will stop them because that's the kind of man you are!". He was very quiet and I was sitting there thinking, "oh boy, now you've done it Sister Voss. Go big or go home, I guess." He looks at me and laughs and says "Yeah, I know". So. Good news! E and R are getting married and then they're getting baptized on the 14th of November!!!!

Miracles happen every day and that, my friends, is most definitely one of the biggest miracles I have seen on the mission! It's going to be a rocky road, but I know the gospel has the power to change even the hardest of hearts. E proved that to me this week.

As per usual, with transfers this week, be sure to send stuff no later than tomorrow or send it to the mission home address 999 E Tufts Ave, Denver CO 80113. Sister Ytac and I are about 95% sure we are going to stay in Fruita (YAY) to finish up her training. The goal is to stay through Christmas. I don't want to leave this place!

I love you all and thank you all, AGAIN for the wonderful birthday wishes. Sister Ytac and I are just beside ourselves with the love you poured out to the both of us!

Monday, October 5, 2015

First of all, thank you all SO much for the wonderful birthday wishes, emails, cards, and packages! It's been a lot of fun checking the mail every day! And seeing my entire email inbox flooded with emails! Sister Ytac and I have enjoyed all of your love! I have been trying my best to reply to your emails and sending cards. It's gonna take some time and I will do my best to write you all back!

We worked so hard here in Fruita this last week and saw a lot of our hard work finally start to bear some fruit. We have several new people to teach and a couple of them are ready to come unto Christ and enter into the waters of baptism! How exciting! We are truly finding the elect out here! On top of that we have found some less active members out here who are so ready to come back to church and restore their relationship with the Savior. I love this work!

Secondly, what an amazing week of spiritual food and uplifting messages! I love General Conference, and I especially loved the Women's Broadcast last Saturday #CreepyCat. Hahaha. President Uchtdorf is so funny! And three new Apostles! It just goes to show that the work here on earth is hastening and God has a lot for us to hear that is still relevant to us today!

Also, can we just talk about President Nelson's talk on the glory of being a woman in the Latter-days!? If you missed it I encourage you to keep your eyes peeled on lds.org because it is good for EVERYONE to hear, not just those of the LDS community. We are all beautiful and divine daughters of God! Well, son's too!

The fall colors up (down?) here are absolutely beautiful. Today it has been rainy all day and really reminds me of Washington. Its oddly refreshing. The weather has been gradually cooling down which is a relief to me. Not so much for my Californian/Philippine companion! But she is acclimating well.

Last Sunday was Sister Ytac's birthday, she turned 20, and our Ward Mission Leader and his family threw us a "double your pleasure" birthday party on Wednesday. We had a blast!

I have to head out but stay tuned to my Facebook page! A couple here in our ward is doing the honors of throwing us (another) birthday party tonight and will be posting pics and videos!

I love you all! Keep seeing the daily miracles and the Lord's hand in your lives! He lives, and He is always there!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Sister Ytac and I have been seeing some amazing miracles here in Fruita. I absolutely adore this place. On Saturday Sister Ytac and I got to go help set up for the Women's Broadcast at the Stake Center in Grand Junction. It was absolutely beautiful and so many beautiful sisters, too! What a joy it was to be there and to be so spiritually uplifted.

This next week we have some AMAZING plans for the area with our Ward Mission Leader, and we are so excited to be seeing our teaching pool grow every week! We are almost to the point where we need another set of sisters here to help us out!

Fun adventure of this week: A recent convert's son came over to spray our apartment because we have been having a pretty bad bug problem. Ugh. SO GROSS. So, he took some heavy duty spray for inside the apartment and some for outside the apartment. Oh man. We literally watched the bugs crawl away from the apartment. The next day, Sister Ytac and I walked out to our car to find a vast cockroach massacre on the port. Nothing like dead bug carcasses to make your skin crawl. But. Better outside and dead than inside and crawling around. Yuck. Fast forward a week later and we STILL have dead bugs showing up. I'm hoping this is a warning for all future bugs who decide they want to move in. WARNING: You will die.

Other than that, not a whole lot of new things going on. Just work, work, work! I love it!

The weather is still pretty toasty here in the afternoon but pretty chilly in the mornings. Not looking forward to the winter months, but the work must go on!

I love you all and hope you all enjoy General Conference this weekend! I'm looking forward to being spiritually uplifted and corrected!

Monday, September 21, 2015

Ladies and Gents! As of tomorrow I will have been in the mission field for 100 days! That's so weird to me! It feels like just last week I was in the MTC. The days go by slow but the weeks go by so fast!

Sister Ytac and I have been laboring hard here in the Fruita 2nd Ward! We almost hit our mission's Standards of Excellence this week which was amazing! We knocked on this one little street for about 3 hours the other day and talked with about 10 people, 4 of whom are now meeting with us and one is on date to baptized in October! Woohoo! Miracles are happening and the field is white for harvesting here in Fruita!

I am sorry I don't have much time to write today because I have an appointment to see a massage therapist today.... May be seeing a chiropractor as well if it persists. My back has been really messed up this last week and it has been keeping me from sleeping. Not sure what is up, but it isn't fun, that's for sure!

Today we are out with a sister who lives in Grand Junction and is getting ready to go on her mission in a month. She is spending P-day with us and going to come out with us during the week to teach and get to see missionary life in action.

I love you all and can't wait to email you more next week! Make sure to keep track of the miracles you see every day!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Holy cow the time flies so fast here! I can't believe I've been out in the mission for 14 weeks. Tomorrow will be my 3 month mark that I have been out in the field.

This week was pretty busy trying to get Sister Ytac situated and get everything she needs out here. We spent a lot of time with less-actives this week and 10 of them showed up to church! All of whom we have been teaching within the last couple of weeks! Woohoo!!

This week I have been SO tired. I'm not sure why. As a missionary, you're tired ALL the time because you are going LITERALLY from sun up to sun down.... and then some. 14 hours. But it is the best kind of tired. I lay down in bed at 10:15 and know that I have done absolutely everything I could that day that the Lord could put in our path.

The weather here is starting to cool down a little. But it still gets to be about 95 degrees in the afternoon on really sunny days. Yesterday was one of those days. Sister Ytac and I tracted for about an hour and a half. Lot's of people home on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and a lot of opportunities to talk to people. The Denver Broncos won yesterday so everyone was really excited about that.

This week Sister Ytac and I are working on getting her comfortable with OYM-ing. So pray for opportunities to see people on the streets and to give her courage!

We gotta go wash our car and get shopping done for the week. And nap.... an afternoon nap sounds really good. #Pday.for.the.win!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Sorry this is all so late everyone! I forgot that Monday was Labor Day.... In missionary land you don't really have holidays so you think, "why should the rest of the world?" Then on Saturday night we received a text from our Mission President to our whole mission stating that he wanted us to wait and have P-day on Wednesday. So here I am, emailing on Wednesday

GOOD NEWS! I'm still in Fruita! YAY!

OTHER.... Weird news.... I'M TRAINING!!!

So here is the news! I am here in Fruita still! Yay! My address is still the W Pabor Wy. :) Unfortunately, Sister Kenworthy is still sick, so she is on the Metro side where she has access to doctors, which means I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Ytack (ee-tack) and she is from California! She is an absolute doll and I'm so excited to have her here in Fruita with me! We are going to work hard and see some amazing miracles! I can feel it!

I was very sad to part with Sister Kenworthy! We have gotten so close. She isn't just a companion, she is a sister of my heart! We were so sure we were going to be together for another transfer. But that Lord had other plans, and that includes her getting back to good health. We hope to be able to serve together again, though.

This last week Sister Kenworthy and I gave service to a single mom here in Fruita and we got our district in on the action. We did yard work for about 4 hours on Thursday afternoon and we had a HYSTERICAL time! We worked hard and laughed even harder! I'll send pictures in the next couple of emails :)

What else???? Oh yes! Yesterday was my first day as a full-fledged missionary. I am no longer a greeny! (Greeny is a term we have in the mission for a missionary who is still in their first 12 weeks)

Saturday we got our transfer calls, but President Murdock was the one calling us. He usually doesn't call unless you are being called to leadership, whitewashing, or training. I knew for a fact I was not being called to be a Sister Training Leader and I didn't think Sis. Kenworthy would be because she has only been out for 6 months..... Surprise!!!! So, the stork visited me and brought me my first Daughter in the mission straight from the MTC :) her name is Sister Ytac (ee-tack) and she is absolutely adorable! She is very shy and timid but I have absolutely no doubt she will warm up quickly and be an amazing disciple of Christ. She is a choice soul!

I'm SO stinking surprised that I was asked to train. In my interview with President Murdock this last transfer he had told me that there were only two Sisters coming out in this transfer so I wasn't going to train, but that I probably would within the next couple of transfers. I'm sitting there thinking, "NO PROBLEM there! There is no way I'm ready to train someone else! I'm just finishing BEING trained!"..... SURPRISE! I'm training. What in the world?!?! I'm the first in our district from our MTC group that is training, and I feel like I am the LEAST qualified and prepared for this! SO.... now all of a sudden I'm a trainer, senior companion, and I've taken over an area that I really haven't worked in much!

But Heavenly Father doesn't make mistakes. He obviously told President I would be a good trainer for some reason.... I just have a hard time figuring out that reason! I need all of the prayers I can get this transfer, and I'm pretty sure I will be spending a TON of time on my knees praying and pleading for guidance! Monday afternoon rolled around and I had a full out panic-attack because I was so nervous. Keep praying for me, please!

I love you all and I'm so excited to start my third transfer out here on the mission!

Until next week!

Love,

Sister Voss

1st Picture: We were given a Green River watermelon by our Ward Mission Leader. Sister Kenworthy and I LITERALLY ate out of it with spoons. No shame.

Pic 3: Elder Kamrowski's "funeral" (He is finished with his mission and is now on his way home)

Pic 4: This is from when we did the yard work last week. That bundle is nothing but WEEDS! We pulled them all up from her front yard and then realized we needed to take them to the back yard to burn them with the rest..... So we decided to grab a rope, tie it up and roll it. Genius and hilarious!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

So with Sister Kenworthy STILL not better we have been inside most of the week. Not sure what is going on but if she isn't better by Wednesday we will be calling our mission nurse again and try to figure things out. She's finished 2 Z-packs (Zithromiacin). And while most of her symptoms are gone her fatigue is not getting any better, it actually seems worse. So, we've been going crazy being stuck at home so much. But we have had some amazing spiritual conversations about life, scripture study, etc. Fun Story: We had a scripture chase to find the word sponge and marshmallow in the scriptures. They exist.

While she is resting, I've mostly been cleaning the heck out of our apartment. We have stuff from 6 missionaries ago. Not to mention it hasn't had a decent cleaning in quite a while. I'm pretty sure Sister Kenworthy and I have spent more of our MSF funds on fixing up our apartment than actually getting food, toiletries, etc. **Attention Future Missionaries reading this email- For the love of all other missionaries out there in the world: CLEAN YOUR APARTMENTS! Seriously. It's not always fun to clean. But it is necessary.** You can thank me later. 3 words "Be ye clean!"

This Saturday we will be getting transfer calls (I can't believe its already been 6 weeks!) I don't think either of us will be transferred which is fine by me. But President Murdock is the one that receives that inspiration. I absolutely love Fruita! I love the community, the ward, and my district! Sister Kenworthy and I haven't had a chance to really work the area, but I have grown to love this amazing daughter of God with all my heart. We have been able to experience some rather amazing and funny Companion "Comp" unity.

This morning we had an elder in our district with a birthday so we threw him a surprise birthday party! Sister Kenworthy and I made the cake. We all got to the church building and hid... which took a lot more creativity than you'd think without being blatantly disobedient. Sister Kenworthy and I hid behind come curtains (Sight and sound, always), Elder Lybbert and Sorhus hid behind the piano, and Elder Rogers and Kamrowski hid in an empty closet, which was hysterical to watch them fit into that tiny space. We were laughing so hard! Sometimes missionary work really is HARD work, but a lot of times that work is accompanied by a lot of fun and memorable moments.

With transfers just around the corner, keep in mind that if you're going to send packages or letters after Tuesday via USPS send it to the mission home office at:

Sister Leona Voss

Denver Colorado South Mission

999 E Tufts Ave

Cherry Hills Village CO 80113

They will forward it on to me, whether it be in Fruita or in another area, but only if its USPS. I will let you all know ASAP whether I will be transferred or whether I will be staying in Fruita!

I love you all and pray that you all see miracles every day! Thank you for keeping me in your prayers and I love reading your replies. It's always good to hear from you!

Love,

Sister Voss

PS- It was brought to my attention that the milk jug pic. did not attach so I will send that pic along with some pictures from Sisters Conference that we had on Tuesday of last week.

Monday, August 24, 2015

1st miracle- Sister Kenworthy FINALLY got to see the Doctor on Friday. Good news! She has bronchitis! Bad news. Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! But all is well. She is on some antibiotics and will hopefully start feeling better within the next couple of days. :)

2nd miracle- While I was on a day exchange with another sister from Grand Junction, Sister Collins, here in Fruita, we were having THE WORST time! It was 100 degrees and we spent 2 hours knocking and completely striking out. No one was home, and our GPS wasn't working. We were struggling! So, I decided to drive out to a part of our area I had NEVER been to before and we found an investigator, D, we hadn't been able to get into contact with since the beginning of the transfer. Fun fact: she's a former Jehovah's Witness. Anyway, we had an AMAZING lesson about the Plan of Salvation and about the pre-mortal existence. It was so uplifting.

3rd miracle- at the end of the day that miracle #2 happened we went back to the one neighborhood we were striking out at. For a little illustration, I will explain this neighborhood (Comstock) as Sunland in Sequim basically. Really hard to find different streets, and some streets you can only get to by using other specific streets. I also remind you that our GPS is still not working! Anyway, we FINALLY find Hemlock where Sister Kenworthy and I had knocked into this kid from Washington a few weeks previously. He works for the oil fields up in Wyoming so it's REALLY hard to get into contact with him. So, this sister that I'm on exchanges with, and I get out of the car and this random friendly yellow lab comes running up to us. She's in front of the house we are parked in front of. Of course, the concerned dog lover that I am is thinking, "Hrrrmmm.... I wonder if your owner knows you're not inside." So we go knock on the door and this woman, M, answers and I told her I wanted to make sure her dog was safe. Long story short, all is well and we are able to strike up a conversation with M and how she is really looking for God, but her son has a spinal injury that has left him with special needs and he is very vocal to his surroundings so she avoided church because people usually stare at them. WELL, we talked about how loving Christ is and how we really try to be examples of Him and that her and her son are always welcome to come to our church any time. She really liked that idea so we asked her if she'd like to go on a church tour so that she could get familiar with the building. We have a return appointment and a church tour set up for this Wednesday! Woohoo!

4th miracle- After we finished with M, we went to A's house (the kid from Washington) and knocked. A woman answered and said she really wasn't interested. I asked if A still lived there and she said yes but that he was out of town. So Sister Collins and I were walking back to the car. As we are about to get in this pick up truck with WASHINGTON license plates pulls in! It's A! He get's out of the car and I yell "Hey, A! How are you?!". He's on the phone and was like "hold on---- (whoever he was talking to)" he puts his phone on mute and was like "How are you guys!?" I asked if he had had time to read the pamphlet we left him and he said he had read the whole thing and then added "Oh hey! Do you guys have one of those books? (The Book of Mormon)". I had already put my bag in the car but Sister Collins whips one out and says "heck yeah we do!" He took it and was really excited to start reading it!

Miracles 2-4 all happened on Wednesday! Sometimes Heavenly Father wants us to prove just how bad we want something and I'm so glad we kept going when it would have been SO easy for us to say, "that's it, we've been knocking for 2 hours. It's hot as Hades, we're sweating, sunburned, running low on water and we don't know where to go because our GPS isn't working, and we've been insanely unproductive this entire time!" But, we were diligent and kept pushing through.

Friday rolls around (the day we find out Sister Kenworthy has da bronchitis). We had a pretty full day but nothing too bad as she is still pretty fatigued. We are about to head into our apartment, its about 830, and this boy, J, who we had OYM-ed (Open Your Mouth) a few weeks previously comes up and was asking us questions. We taught him, his cousin, and his buddy the Plan of Salvation. We talked about the importance of prayer, church attendance and scripture study and both J, and his buddy asked if they could have a Book of Mormon before we could even offer it to them. We invited all three young men to be baptized on the 26th of September and they said yes!

After all of the problems we have been having here these last 4 weeks, we saw miracles that made the struggles all worth it. I love it here in Fruita and I hope I get to stay with Sister Kenworthy for another transfer or two. We have really grown to love one another and we are both really excited to start seeing great things happen here in our area.

I love the Lord and I love missionary work. I know that if we are diligent, the Lord will give us miracles and that there are miracles in our lives EVERY day. We just have to look for them. Heavenly Father loves us each so much, and he knows who each and every one of us are. He knows our struggles and our triumphs and He sent his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth so that He would know how to succor us.

I love you all dearly and I hope you all look for the daily miracles that happen in your life!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

I don't have much time this week so I apologize in advance for not answering all of your emails! We had interviews with our mission president yesterday which means that P-day is today but we only get half the day. Sister Kenworthy and I have been running around in a frenzy since we finished studying and training this morning!

This week was REALLY STINKING HOT! It's been between 100-104 every day this week. A couple days ago I was on exchanges with our Sister Training Leader and we tracted for 2 hours in 104 degrees. It was really hard, but so worth it. I got to use my Spanish again which is always fun! With Sister Kenworthy still sick I've been thankful to be spending a lot of time indoors. She finally gets to go to the doctor this week! YAY! Hopefully she will officially be on the mend!

That's about it for this week. Thank you all for your emails, letters, packages, and endless amount of love and prayers. I love you all dearly and love hearing from you!

Love,

Sister Voss

PS! I forgot to mention. If you do end up including anything in my packages specifically for Sister Kenworthy, she is allergic to corn (high fructose corn syrup seems to be the most common), but so far we haven't run in to any problems. Corn starch is okay though. There is something about that process that makes it so that she can have it. Thank you so much for your love and sending care packages!

Monday, August 10, 2015

The work in Fruita is definitely picking up! My companion is still pretty sick, but we are working as much and as diligently as we can without hindering her recovery. There was a nasty virus that went around a week before the transfer and unfortunately she caught it. :( no fun. I absolutely adore Sister Kenworthy though. She is an amazing artist and she loves this work. We have really gotten into a groove with each other and we love this area :)

I wanted to share some of the miracles we have seen this week while working here in the Fruita 2nd Ward

Tuesday: While out tracting Sister Kenworthy and I ran into this kid from Vancouver Washington! Crazy, right? I told him that I was from Sequim and he was like "NO WAY! My buddy is from Sequim!" Anyway, we got his address, it's not in our area, but we sent the elders to him.

Thursday: I got to meet one of our investigators for the first time a couple days ago. He works out of state very frequently but he is ready to be baptized. Get this! He grew up as a FUNDAMENTALIST (FLDS)!!! And a few months ago he just showed up to church and said he wanted to meet with the missionaries and be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! We are waiting for him to come into town again to finish teaching him, get some interviews out of the way and then he is ready to get in the water! The weeks that he's not in Fruita, he goes to whatever ward is nearest him in whatever state he is in! Last week it was Texas.

Sunday: After having an INSANELY hard Saturday, Sister Kenworthy and I were feeling so useless. We had an AWFUL day basically ended up in the chapel pouring our hearts out to Heavenly Father as individuals and as a companionship. It was really emotional but so needed. We got to experience and deepen our love for one another as daughters of God and as companions. So Sunday, we were hoping to have a better day but Sister Kenworthy was just really not feeling well. But while we were at church, two former investigators showed up out of the blue and stayed for all three hours. The woman pulled me aside and asked if she could have a priesthood blessing and that her significant other would like one too, but she wasn't sure if he knew what a priesthood blessing was and what all was entailed. So after church we had an impromptu lesson with this man and woman and our ward mission leaders and another priesthood holder. We talked about how the priesthood was the authority to act in God's name, that Christ gave this power, this authority, to His apostles and that that power was in fact here on earth today. We talked about blessing and what they all entail, and that it's not just a man speaking, but it is the words that Heavenly Father has for the individual to here. We also emphasized that is is a blessing according to our faith and that we have to be willing to act in accordance with Heavenly Father's guidance, we can't just expect all of our problems to "poof" be fixed. So, they both received priesthood blessings right then and there! And they were amazingly powerful blessings! Sister Kenworthy and I are praying earnestly that this couple will decide to make the necessary changes needed to enter the waters of baptism.

The power of the priesthood is real and it can greatly bless our lives if we are willing to act in faith and believe that Heavenly Father knows exactly how to help us!

I hope you all are well and thank you all for your letters! I have absolutely loved receiving them! I will be sending replies soon. :)

Love,

Sister Voss

Sister Kenworthy and I on our way out to preach the gospel! She is from Longmont Colorado :)

Monday, August 3, 2015

We had transfers on Tuesday and I was transferred from Delta to Fruita and am now serving in the Fruita 2nd ward. My new companion, is Sister Kenworthy and she is just AMAZING! We are both "follow-up training" each other. Basically it means this is both our second transfer. AND we "white washed" the area. Missionary slang for: The missionaries that were serving here before were all transferred to another area and we get to figure the area out all by ourselves! It's exciting!

Fruita is a quirky little town. A lot like Port Townsend, but in the mid-desert. This place has about two things going for it. Dinosaurs and biking... You read that right.... Dinosaurs. There is a dinosaur museum that is as campy animatronic as you can get, it's hilariously gruesome. There is a giant T-rex statue in the middle of town square, a T-rex painted onto the side of an old grain building, and a stegosaurus painted on a restaurant's bilboard sign.

And then there is biking. Lots and lots of biking. Did I mention biking? There are 3 bike stores in "downtown" Fruita. They take it very seriously here. OH! And there is this fantastic restaurant called the Hot Tomato. It is definitely as good as it sounds! Very "hipster" friendly. I felt like I was in Seattle again. Sister Kenworthy and I went there for our dinner on Thursday, its apparently tradition for the new missionaries in the area to go there for a meal during their first week. The food is delicious. If I'm here next transfer I'm sure we will go again!

Another weird fact about Fruita. The roads here are RIDICULOUS! We have roads like 15 1/2 rd and 14 1/8 road. I'm not kidding. Basically, they mark how far you are from the Utah border. Pretty genius, but also unimaginative hahahaha! The Fruita 2nd ward territory covers part of Fruita, all of Loma and Mack and then all the way out to the Utah border. Not sure what it is with me being sent to territories that are practically endless, but it makes for interesting adventures and we definitely make sure we are diligent! There aren't many houses out there, but on a P-day we have contemplated going all the way out to 0 road. Standing at the edge of the world! Okay, not the edge of the world, but the edge of the Colorado Denver South Mission world!

All in all, I love this area! Very quaint and quirky. Those are the best words I can use to describe this little town! :) There is a LOT of work to be done that I'm excited for! The sisters before us left us a LONG letter about the area and they thoroughly worked this area in searching, now we have an entire white board and a half to follow up on. We have got our work cut out for us and we are so excited to see what fruita we can reap! Ha! Fruit. Fruita! I crack myself up. Remember what I said about mission brain a few emails back? It makes you resort to corny jokes.

I apologize for not having pictures this week. I left my camera at home unfortunately! :( But I will have some next week :)

I love you all and I enjoy reading your replies! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how you're doing! Until next time.

Love,

Sister Voss

PS- If you get a chance, could ya'll send me your birthdays. I might not be able to send a card but I will probably be able to write you a little email :)